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Legendary radio host Howard Stern has drawn both applause and condemnation for a fiery rant he delivered on his Wednesday about anti-vaxxers.
Asked by a caller how he feels the U.S. should deal with unvaccinated people's outsized impacts on the way the pandemic is playing out in the U.S., Stern did not mince words in his characteristically blunt style.
He told the caller that unvaccinated people should be denied hospital care and be told they will have to "go home and die."
‘Go Home and Die!’ Howard Stern Says Hospitals Should Refuse to Treat Unvaccinated People
Hear Stern's comments below.
Howard Stern says hospitals shouldn\u2019t treat the unvaccinatedpic.twitter.com/qkLq7cPxVt— Wittgenstein (@Wittgenstein) 1642714462
"If it was up to me, anyone unvaccinated would not be admitted to a hospital," said Howard Stern, before concluding, "Now if you don\u2019t get it, in my America, all hospitals would be closed to you. You\u2019re going to go home and die."https://bit.ly/3nHkzTI— Mediaite (@Mediaite) 1642654800
The caller's question is one that many people frustrated have asked: Given unvaccinated people's exponentially outsized impact on both the duration of the pandemic and the nearly untenable pressure they put on hospital capacity, should we allow "the pandemic [to] run wild and move through the unvaccinated."
While many find that idea dangerous and even inhumane—including many healthcare workers who feel it is a violation of the oath they take to "do no harm"—Stern is not among them.
He responded plainly:
“If it was up to me, anyone unvaccinated would not be admitted to a hospital. Send them home with a bottle of Robitussin.”
Stern then attempted to reason with any anti-vaxxers listening to him who may have fallen for the myriad bizarre conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines, despite the mountain of scientific evidence that they are safe and effective.
“No one’s sitting there conspiring against you. Americans don’t want to create a vaccine that’s going to turn you into a robot, or magnetize you."
"There’s enough Americans now have taken it. Look at us as a sampling where nothing has happened to us. It’s time for you to get it.”
Stern went on to call the act of getting vaccinated a "civic duty" the shirking of which should come with dire consequences.
"Now if you don’t get it, in my America, all hospitals would be closed to you. You’re going to go home and die.”
On Twitter, response to Stern's comments was all over the map.
Many applauded his bluntness, especially given the stakes.
agree --life boat was sent but they did not get in— white nationalists were always there (@white nationalists were always there) 1642640553
I mean you don't trust health officials with vaccine but then do when you get COVID and have to go the ER so kind of has a point— DanielKC77 (@DanielKC77) 1642658406
I guess what I don't get is if you don't trust docs on vaccines, why trust them to treat you in the hospital? It's the proof they're completely devoid of logic. If ya don't trust medicine--and you think that's your right--then don't trust medicine. Ever.— Cliff Schecter (@Cliff Schecter) 1642690802
I agree with @HowardStern ! No treatment for those refusing personal responsibility!— Rozlynn Downer (@Rozlynn Downer) 1642619261
UGH!!! So frustrated with intentional anti-vaxxers! \nHospitals should prioritize treatment for those with illnesses that\u2019s not self-inflicted.— Friday (@Friday) 1642617582
I'm with Howard Stern.\n\nThe self-chosen unvaccinated should not be taking up hospital space and draining our limited resources.\n\nTime to thin the low end of the intelligence level of this country.— The Centrist (@The Centrist) 1642683162
But many others thought Stern's approach was wrong and inhumane.
That\u2019s not the way hospitals work. We have a compact/agreement with our communities, and treat those who seek us out. Even before Covid people engaged in risky behavior and made poor choices. We are still here for everyone.— Jimmy Swizzle (@Jimmy Swizzle) 1642621455
Nah, that\u2019s not morally right. The health care system is already fucked but we shouldn\u2019t turn people away. I am fully vaxxed and will get all the shots, but I am not going to let my fellow man die just because they aren\u2019t. I might not agree, I might be upset but I am giving care.— Mike X (@Mike X) 1642642208
That goes against the moral code doctors and nurses are held to. Hospitals don\u2019t treat people based on political standing or opinions, they treat them based on who\u2019s the most sick which is how it\u2019s always been and always should be no matter what you believe.— Dustin Heyah Hoffman (@Dustin Heyah Hoffman) 1642695143
Look I know Covid is riding hard on everyone's last nerve, but I"m pretty OK with living in a nation with a public health system where this would not only be grossly unethical but illegal.https://twitter.com/tommyxtopher/status/1483828398975852544\u00a0\u2026— Craig Ranapia (@Craig Ranapia) 1642607460
Stern has been a vocal critic of anti-vaxxers during the pandemic, railing against famous anti-vaxxers like Aaron Rodgers, Kyrie Irving, and Joe Rogan, and infamously saying last year "fu*k their freedom, I want my freedom to live."